MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has been covering Major League Baseball since 1981 and is the author of "Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Cubs." You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Here, she blogs about the Cubs.

3/28 Parisi decides Cubs best fit

Mike Parisi was a free agent for 24 hours, and decided he wanted to stay with the Cubs. The Cubs acquired the right-hander in the Rule 5 Draft last December but didn’t have a spot for him on the 25-man roster. It gets a little technical, but he was placed on waivers, and cleared. Then, he was outrighted. The Cardinals had the chance to accept Parisi back but he would’ve been assigned to their Triple-A Memphis team. Parisi said no. Because it was the second time he was outrighted, he became a free agent and chose the Cubs.

This was not a typical situation for Rule 5 players, but most have never been on a team’s 40-man roster before. Parisi had with St. Louis.

“I feel like if I work hard here and put up some good numbers and a spot comes up, I feel hopefully I have a shot here,” Parisi said Sunday. “That seems the right move for me right now. Being a free agent, for the first time ever being a free agent, I had to learn the rules. If I pitch well here, I can pitch well in Triple-A. I’ve been [with the Cardinals] for a couple years so I know what to expect. I hope I go down there and pitch well and get my shot here.”

One of the reasons Parisi wanted to stay was his relationship with Minor League pitching coordinator Mark Riggins, who was in the St. Louis organization when Parisi was drafted. He will go to Triple-A Iowa, where he’ll be a starter. He’s also learning from the Cubs veterans.

“Just look at the amount of work they put in and the amount of fun they have doing it,” Parisi said. “That’s another reason I wanted to stay. I feel real comfortable here. I’ve only been here a month or so but I feel comfortable. It’s a fun atmosphere. That definitely goes into the equation. I love to play baseball and I love to have fun playing baseball.

“I feel if I pitch well here, I will have an opportunity so that’s where we are,” he said.

– Carrie Muskat

Share this:

Like this:

Related

1 Comment

I am so happy to hear he chose to stay with the team! I’m sure a lot of people are disappointed in how he pitched this spring, but those people obviously didn’t go to any spring training games. Parisi signed autographs for fans for HOURS before games and was always striking up conversations with each fan, creating an atmosphere that I have never seen before between a player and fans. He seems to be a truly great person who feels blessed by what he has and he is definitely an asset to the Cubs. I have no doubt he will continue to get better as a player and be rewarded for all of his hard work. Carrie, please let Mike know that the fans really do appreciate that stuff, and yes, I know I need to change my screen name on here…

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.